The best concerts to see in Denver this weekend

FRI & SAT | BIG GIGANTIC at FILLMORE / RED ROCKS | 9/27-9/28 When Big Gigantic played Red Rocks last year, the feeling of hometown pride was unmistakable. As the act went into “Colorado Mountain High,” a giant projection of the state flag draped the rocks, and the crowd went…

The best EDM in Denver this weekend

MANO LE TOUGH @ NORAD | SAT, 9/28/13 Mano Le Tough is a Berlin-based artist whose output ranges from sweeping, atmospheric house soundscapes to a more minimalist slant on the techno side of things, with mechanical beats and melodies that evoke what you might hear if robots could write melancholy…

The Wiredogs truly connect with The Resistance

It’s probably the most unhappy I’ve ever been as an adult,” says Dan Aid, frontman for the Wiredogs, the band previously known as the Hate. He’s referring to the group’s name change, a stressful process that involved wading through hundreds of possibilities. “The reason for the name change was mostly…

Dusky brings dance music across the pond to NORAD

It’s been a stellar year so far for Dusky, the London-based duo that’s blowing up right now with a garage-house sound mastered in the act’s native stamping grounds. Alfie Granger-Howell and Nick Harriman, the pair who make up Dusky, are just as comfortable inside the studio as out; they’ve had…

Lil Thunder

“You can cut your wrist wide open and bleed out all of your miseries,” sings Lil Thunder’s Marie Litton on “Serpent and the Rainbow,” the rousing opener to Razor Blades & Sunshine, the followup to the band’s self-titled debut EP, released in 2011. It’s just one of many poignant lines…

Havok

When Havok emerged in the middle part of the 2000s, its members were already prodigious players. Still in high school, the dudes were accomplished enough to expertly channel the finest moments of Metallica’s classic era, which is how they first gained notice around here. Since then, of course, they’ve attracted…

Total Ghost

Total Ghost appears to be having some existential despair. “We have made love with over 37 different space genders/We have raised glasses of moon champagne with foreign dignitaries/We have snorted asteroid dust off the boobies of space prostitutes/And we realized: Something is missing.” The sophomore release from this Euro-trash duo…

Varlet

“So You Go Along,” the opening track on Varlet’s new album, American Hymns, sounds deceptively like something out of a 1970s musical, only the textures are richer and the lyrics darker. And that’s a perfect image for this album, a project on which Lily Scott indulges her inner jazz-and-blues singer,…

A list of Colorado flood relief benefit concerts

Update, 9/25/13: Todd Park Mohr of Big Head Todd has been added to the lineup for this Friday’s flood relief benefit at Swallow Hill. Complete information listed below. Although the heavy rains that soaked the Front Range have stopped and the floodwaters have begun to recede, as with any natural…

Under a Blood Red Sky screening canceled

Update, 9/24/13: If you haven’t heard yet, this special screening of U2’s Under a Blood Red Sky has been canceled. According to the Denver Film Society, after conferring with the Feys, it was determined that any fundraising efforts would be better directed to raising funds for flood victims. All credit…

Furthur at Red Rocks, 9/22/13

FURTHUR at RED ROCKS | NIGHT FOUR | 9/22/13 Last night marked the final show of Furthur’s annual four-day Red Rocks run, and Mother Nature continued playing a prominent role as dark rain clouds quickly moved by on the horizon. Luckily, everyone came prepared for the worst, and for very…

The twenty best hairdos at Riot Fest Denver

There was many magnificent manes at Riot Fest Denver this past weekend. We sent Eric Gruneisen out roaming the grounds in search of the most stunning locks, and he came across a wide variety of colorful hairstyles, from vibrant candy-colored ‘dos to mohawks a plenty. Keep reading to see the…

The twenty best tattoos at Riot Fest Denver

There was some beautiful body ink at Riot Fest Denver this past weekend. We sent one of our resident shutterbugs, Eric Gruneisen, out roaming the grounds in search of the freshest ink, and he came across a wide variety of colorful adornments, including some musically themed art, a couple guitars…

Furthur at Red Rocks, 9/21/13

FURTHUR at RED ROCKS | NIGHT THREE | 9/21/13 Furthur’s third show at Red Rocks had two special guests — a monster Harvest Moon that was even bigger than the night before and an hour-long fireworks display in the background. The venue filled up much faster on this night than…

Further at Red Rocks, 9/20/13

FURTHUR at RED ROCKS | NIGHT TWO | 9/20/13 As Furthur took the stage to a sold out crowd last night at Red Rocks, they were upstaged by a massive orange Harvest Moon coming up over the horizon. The band began some preliminary warm-up jamming, as tons of cell phones…

The Weeknd at 1STBANK Center, 9/20/13

THE WEEKND at 1STBANK CENTER | 9/20/13 Though visually heightened by flashes of naked, writhing women and feeling rather Internet-manic with its placement of faux-commercials for condoms between songs, the Weeknd’s show at 1STBANK Center was simply okay. But for fans of the Toronto-based musician and his steady stream of…

The best concerts to see in Denver this week

FRI & SAT | BIG GIGANTIC at FILLMORE, RED ROCKS | 9/27-9/28 Last year’s Big Gigantic date at Red Rocks was the best EDM shows of the year in this state, and that speaks volumes, given how many stellar acts there were to choose from. The feeling of hometown pride,…

The best of Riot Fest Denver

Riot Fest Denver was very well put together. The good things far outweighed the bad. In fact, any complaints we might have are incidental and barely worth mentioning, or they’re inherent to the location or simply beyond organizers control. The lineup was obviously the best thing about Riot Fest Denver,…